This Might Be the Most 'West Wing' Election of Our Lives.

[elleng]

'OK, it’s a fairy tale, but it’s a fairy tale we should heed.

My favorite coffee mug is emblazoned with words of advice: “Lead like Jed. Advise like Leo. Think like Josh. Speak like C.J. Argue like Toby. Write like Sam.” What the mug doesn’t say but implies by its very existence: “Believe in America like a fan of ‘The West Wing.’”

Set in the White House of fictional President Jed Bartlet, “The West Wing” is an hourlong serial drama that aired on NBC from 1999 to 2006. It features the moral quandaries of President Bartlet — economist, Nobel laureate and Democrat — along with those of his family and staff. The show’s cast of thousands includes assistants and interns, journalists, political consultants, pollsters, White House attorneys, military advisers, Supreme Court justices, and congressional adversaries and allies.

The fictional West Wing of two decades ago doesn’t always hold up to 21st-century standards for workplace relationships and attitudes, but my coffee mug sums up the main characters pretty well. Imperfect though they can sometimes be — making colossal errors of judgment, sabotaging promising relationships, being rude to subordinates — they work collectively as a kind of role model for unstinting service to the country we all love.

Story lines on “The West Wing” include the usual grudges, hookups, missed opportunities and hurt feelings endemic to television drama, but the show is far more than a nighttime soap opera. At its heart, “The West Wing” is a multiyear civics lesson, and every episode is a parable.

Season by season, the show demonstrates the way the federal government is supposed to work and why. What do checks and balances look like in practice? Why is it sometimes necessary to compromise, and when is compromise nothing more than capitulation? Whose interest trumps the interests of everyone else? (Hint: It’s never the elected official’s.) What is the right relationship between the White House and the press? . .

We have the chance to vote for a president who actually wants to “restore the soul of America,” the chance to vote for a ticket that looks a lot like America itself.

It may be the most “West Wing” thing we ever do in our lives.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/02/opinion/west-wing-election-2020-politics.html?

(((PERFECT way to begin the day!)))

[Under The Radar]

1. I have often wished that Aaron Sorkin could be chief of staff to Obama

Or at the very least a speech writer for any candidate since.

[Aristus]

2. I have fantasies about being elected President.

And asking Aaron Sorkin to be my speechwriter.

He tries politely to fob me off with "You can't afford me, Mr. President-elect", or "I'm just too busy with other projects right now."

Then I hit him with: "Mr. Sorkin, I'm asking you to serve."

And see how he responds to that...

[PJMcK]

3. Great column!

I've said it before: The West Wing is my favorite fairy tale.

Here's how I came to know the show. I haven't watched broadcast television in decades except to keep myself up-to-date for business reasons. One day I was at a client's apartment and he was binge watching TWW on one of the cable channels. As I was working, I caught 2 or 3 episodes and was impressed. But I didn't watch the show again until a few years later when I subscribed to Netflix and watched all 7 seasons in about 2 weeks. Great writing, acting and production!

The funny thing is that as far to the left I am as a progressive liberal, my client was equally far to the right yet he loved the show. He felt that it showed a fair balance of views even though it was produced by "liberal Hollywood elites."

Sadly, my client passed away a couple of years ago. He was a good man for many reasons.